Chasing Tails
by thedemonsangel
Summary: It takes a lot to get someone to agree to be a mate...it's so much easier to trick them. Pairings: SasuNaru, ItaKyuu, etc.... Warnings: AU, language, rated for future chapters, rating may change, etc.
1. First Impressions

A new piece from me, one that's only been up on dA for a few minutes.

Warnings:  
Future SasuNaru, ItaKyuu, and other undecided side pairings; AU (human/animal hybrids); humor; language; etc...  
Rating for future chapters, and it may change in future chapters.

Disclaimer:  
I do not own the Naruto characters.

* * *

Life was simple…well, as simple as it could be for a hybrid child at five years old.

The little fennec fox hybrid pounced around the playground, making the attempt to capture a monarch butterfly that fluttered just out of reach. His parents and older brother were still in sight, but he didn't care about them for the time being, he was trying to capture his prey.

"Naruto!"

Just has his little hands were about to cup the butterfly into entrapment, his long furry ears heard his father calling for him, leaving him to pause for a second. In that moment of hesitation, the butterfly managed to slip from his sight, leaving the child's ears and tail to droop. However, since he father called him, he had to see what he wanted.

Making his way over to where his parents and brother were, Naruto had a pout on his lips. He wanted to capture that butterfly; it was pretty. However, when he glanced up, the little blonde had been expecting to just find his family, not a family of hybrid white tigers with them.

While it was normal for breeds to mate within the same species, it was more common to find mixed partners…like his parents. Sure, both were foxes, but his father was a fennec fox like himself, and his mother and older brother were red foxes, so to find a family of just white tigers made Naruto think, in his little kid logic, that they were weird.

"Naruto, come meet the Uchiha family," Minato said. "They even have a son around your age. This is Sasuke."

At the information of one being his age, Naruto glanced at the youngest tiger hybrid and glared.

"You made me miss the butterfly," Naruto complained.

The blonde watched as the young tiger's tail twitched in annoyance while his eyes narrowed, but he didn't care. This tiger-child made him miss his prey.

"What are you talking about?"

"The pretty butterfly, you made me miss it, and I wanted it."

"Stupid."

A moment later the two children were rolling around on the ground while throwing clumsy punches at each other, none of them hitting their mark. Then out of frustration, Naruto became desperate.

"Ow! Did you just _bite_ me?!"

"Naruto!"

~*~*~*~

Itachi had been watching the interaction between his brother and the youngest fox-boy with a frown. They were being childish, especially the blonde one. It was just a butterfly, nothing to get worked up over. He was hoping that the other fox-boy, who was introduced as Kyuubi, would be mature enough to see the ridiculousness of the whole matter; however, when Itachi turned his eyes on the other, the red fox was cheering his own brother on.

The cheers didn't last long, Itachi noticed, as the mother glared at her older son while her husband tried pulling the boys apart with help from his father. Once the children were separated, Itachi noticed that Sasuke had a bit of blood leaking from his arm. That must have been where the little fennec fox bit Sasuke, but other than that, the two boys just looked rumpled with smears of dirt here and there, and as fascinating as all that was, Itachi decided to ignore the whole thing.

"So…Itachi, right?"

Blinking at the question, Itachi waited for Kyuubi to continue with whatever he wanted to say. There was no point in wasting his energy in replying when there was nothing to say.

"I think it's 'puppy love' between those two," Kyuubi mentioned.

Frowning slightly, Itachi turned his attention back toward his little brother and the hellion that was Kyuubi's brother. Sasuke and Naruto were glaring fiercely at each other, never once turning their gazes away, and Itachi had to admit that he had never seen Sasuke riled up like that before. Sure, his brother only recently turned six, but he was normally quite stoic, especially for a child, and the little fox-child had destroyed that in less than a minute. Sasuke had also been subject to other children his age, but he usually just ignored them, managing to get through a 'play-date' without even muttering a single word to his playmate for the time and some were as energetic as Naruto.

"Hn."

Maybe the red fox was right…in some alternate universe where fighting equated to love.


	2. Every Year it's the Same

This chapter is dedicated to: nana chan the weird  
This is because she's endured my multiple IMs about this story.... _

Warnings:  
Same as last time.

* * *

"Wake up," Kyuubi demanded.

Hearing a muffled reply, he sighed while glaring down at the blankets piled up on his little brother's bed. It always happened…every winter. Being a fennec fox hybrid, Naruto was sensitive to cold weather, and it was Kyuubi's job to get him out of bed while their mother tried the same thing with their father.

"Fine, you're giving me no choice."

Gripping the edge of the heavy pile of blankets, Kyuubi pulled them all off of Naruto and tossed them to the floor. The shrill yelp from his little brother was sadistically amusing to him, but he wasn't there to torture the younger fox.

"Get up and get dressed. We're supposed to go visit with the Uchiha family today."

"I'm being forced out of my nice warm bed to visit the bastard?! No! I refuse!" Naruto complained while trying to bury himself in his ridiculous amount of pillows.

"Are you really still upset about the butterfly thing…that happened about nine years ago? And besides, you're not visiting just Sasuke, but the whole family; it's not all about the youngest Uchiha you know."

A muttering from under the fluffy pillows made Kyuubi's ears lean toward the noise, but he didn't manage to catch whatever it was that Naruto said.

"What was that?" he questioned.

"I _said_ 'no' I'm not upset about the butterfly thing, and it was eight years, 10 months, and 27 days ago."

Kyuubi blinked at the squirming pile of pillows before laughing at his brother.

"Oh yes, I can see that you're _really_ over the butterfly incident," he chuckled mockingly.

"It's not just the butterfly thing! He's just a bastard!"

"Uh huh, whatever you say…. Just get up before mom comes in here and decides to get you out of bed," Kyuubi warned.

The squirming pile finally froze, and Kyuubi knew that he finally managed to get through to Naruto. Their mother could be a scary person…especially when she wanted to get somewhere by a certain time….

~*~*~*~

Hearing a knock at the door, Itachi sighed and put down his book. He had already been informed that he was to answer the door once their guests got there, especially since his lazy brother was not a morning person and, therefore, was not yet awake to do the meaningless chore.

When Itachi got to the door, he found that he didn't even have to answer the door properly since the youngest of the foxes forced the door open and rushed in, zooming past him and up the stairs. Sadly, he was already used to this behavior, especially when it was cold outside. Then, as if nothing had happened, he turned his attention on the other three standing in the doorway.

"Please, come inside everyone."

Luckily for Itachi, the other three came in rather normally, unlike the little spitfire that was probably now waking Sasuke up from his 'beauty rest'.

~*~*~*~

Sasuke had been enjoying his warm bed and undisturbed sleep, up until he was suddenly shocked with something cold hitting his skin. Jolting up, Sasuke glared at the shivering mass under his blankets.

"Damn it, Naruto," he hissed. "Every year!"

Big blue eyes peered out from the warm blankets, only to blink up at him a few times before disappearing into the shadows once again. Sadly, the youngest Uchiha was well aware that it would be impossible to get Naruto out of the bed until he was warmer, and the little fox currently felt like an ice cube. Usually he would also tease the blonde about how much the cold bothered him, and it would come later, but he was still tired, despite the awakening he received. Sasuke decided that it wouldn't hurt to get a few more minutes of sleep….

Burying himself back under his blankets, Sasuke was only vaguely aware of the warmth slowly getting closer to his side before he drifted off to sleep.

~*~*~*~

Kyuubi quietly snuck up the stairs, scoping out the area before wandering down the hallway. He knew where his little brother went, and while it had been cute when Naruto was younger, it was just hilarious now.

"What are you doing?"

Freezing in place, Kyuubi glanced back at Itachi and looked at him with a blank stare. The older of the Uchiha brothers should know what he was up to. It happened every winter, and multiple times during winter; he was spying on their brothers.

"You know," Kyuubi answered before setting back off toward his destination.

He was not surprised to hear Itachi following after him, especially since this also gave the white tiger something to tease his brother with as well. Sasuke and Naruto just made it so easy to do.

Slowly opening the door, the sneaky fox popped his head into the room and silently chuckled when he saw the two teenage boys cuddled up in bed.

"Puppy love."

Kyuubi heard a scoff come from Itachi standing behind him, leaving him to roll his eyes at the feline hybrid. Itachi was just blind to the adorably disgusting love-hate relationship between their brothers. However, that sugary sweet scene was quickly ruined when Naruto ripped the blankets away from Sasuke and stole them for himself.

"Damn it, Naruto! Give me back the blankets, you moron!"

Watching as Sasuke tried to wrestle the blankets back, he was amused that never once had Sasuke freaked out, enough to kick the blonde out of the house, about waking up with Naruto in the bed, and Itachi didn't think that their brothers relationship was more than just fighting, ha!

With some difficulty, Sasuke managed to push Naruto out of the bed, but he did not get his blankets back.

"Boys," Itachi cut in.

Frowning, Kyuubi was annoyed that Itachi stopped his entertainment. It would have been fun watching them fight over blankets. However, he did have to admit that the looks on their faces were priceless.

"Aww, leave them alone, Itachi. They're just having another lover's spat."

This got a violent reaction from both Sasuke and Naruto. His little brother pretended to be vomiting on the carpet while Sasuke was glaring with a silent threat of imminent death.

"Kyuubi…" Itachi warned.

"What? It's true. Just look at them! They just _ooze_ with cavity inducing love! It's rather sickening."

Just as the other three were about to retort to Kyuubi's comment, they were interrupted.

"Boys! Get down here now!"

All four looked at each other and sighed. They knew what was coming next.


	3. Cold Snow, Meddling, and Hot Chocolate

Note: I brought in another character for a moment, but I would not be against getting suggestions for other characters and their hybrid types. I have Sai, Kakashi, and Sakura if I decide to through them in, but how about the others?

Same warnings as previous chapters.

Disclaimer: I do not own the Naruto characters.

* * *

Glaring at the blinding snow, Sasuke followed silently behind his brother, Kyuubi, and Naruto—who happened to be dashing ahead of the group—following some weird tradition set up by their parents to be sent out into the freezing world while they got to stay in the warm house drinking wine. He really didn't understand how the forced tradition was never overthrown, especially by Naruto's complaints about the cold by the end of the outing; however, it wasn't until Naruto's excitement died down that he realized how cold he managed to get.

To say that Sasuke was annoyed by the whole thing would be correct, but that wasn't to say that he _hated_ it. Although he would never admit it, he would never say that he resented the tradition; he just thought it was pointless to be shoved off into the cold in order to spend time with the other three. It was who he would run into on these trips that he wished he could avoid.

"Hey! Naruto!"

Sasuke sighed as the blonde turned his head in order to see the wolf hybrid struggling to run through the knee-deep snow in order to get to the group. Then again, Sasuke figured that he should feel relieved that it wasn't someone who would bother him that showed up.

Continuing forward, the younger white tiger caught up with his brother—Kyuubi having fallen slightly behind at this point as he was chatting with Kiba and Naruto.

"Sasuke."

Blinking slowly, and feeling the strange warmth covering his eyes before the harsh cold bit at them once again, Sasuke wondered what his brother wanted.

"Hn?"

"Never mind."

Narrowing his eyes at his brother, the younger of the two Uchiha brothers knew that Itachi was trying to bother him. Sadly, no matter how much he told himself that he wouldn't fall for his brother's tricks, Sasuke always took the bait.

"What do you want, Itachi?"

Seeing the sly smirk that made its way across his brother's face, Sasuke knew that he fell right into his brother's trap.

"So…it's winter again…and he was in your bed…again."

"What are you getting at?" Sasuke demanded. "I thought you were on my side of this weird belief of Kyuubi's."

Sasuke felt increasingly more uncomfortable at the gleam in his brother's eyes. Itachi could be scary if he wanted to be…and if it involved Sasuke's personal life…that was definitely something to fear.

"Kyuubi isn't exactly the smartest hybrid out there, and all he does is spout out things I already know."

"That you know?" Sasuke questioned. "I'm not in love with his idiotic brother."

"Denial."

"Shut up," the younger of the two demanded, thankful that the fox hybrids were still occupied with chatting with Kiba. "What about you and Kyuubi?"

"What about us?"

"You two might as well be mates."

Sasuke didn't like the look of contemplation on his brother's face. He was just trying to annoy his brother back for what he said, but it looked like his plan was going down the drain.

"We are."

Sasuke stopped moving as if he had been struck by lightning. _WHAT?!_

"Kyuubi just doesn't know it yet. Like you and Naruto."

Resuming his walk, Sasuke decided to ignore his brother. If he didn't already think so, Sasuke would have sworn that his brother was insane. Though, it was interesting to know that Kyuubi was doomed to a life of being stuck as his brother's mate because once an Uchiha decides what they want…it rarely slips from their grasp. He _almost_ felt sorry for Kyuubi.

~*~*~*~

The four almost completed their designated time outside and were heading back. By now the sun was setting, and Naruto was constantly complaining about the cold, to which Sasuke seemed to be ignoring. Oh well, Itachi knew that his little brother just needed a push in the right direction in order to understand what was going on.

Even Itachi, though he wouldn't admit it out loud, had been unaware of the purpose of relationships until he was a teenager. At that time he had finally agreed—silently—with Kyuubi about their brothers, and he also had come to the conclusion that Kyuubi would be his mate. Sure, he never mentioned this to the red fox, but he really didn't think that he had to. Other hybrids would understand, or learn the hard way, that the other was the mate of an Uchiha.

Now he just needed a chance to direct Sasuke before he was too late; the little fennec hybrid needed to be caught before someone else snatched him as a mate. This concern was purely for his little brother. Ever since the day Naruto blamed Sasuke for making him lose the butterfly, Sasuke had never reacted so actively with anyone. Naruto was the only one who was able to get Sasuke to actually live once in a while, so Itachi dubbed it his job to get the two brats together.

"Why does it have to be _so_ cold?!" Naruto complained.

"Where almost there, Naruto," Itachi stated calmly.

"But Itachi…" Naruto whined while giving the older Uchiha puppy eyes.

Itachi was about to tell Naruto that they would be back to the house in a few minutes, but spotting the look of annoyance coming from his brother, the older white tiger realized that he had a momentary chance to annoy his brother. Pulling Naruto flush against him, Itachi mentally smirked at his brother's narrowed gaze. He wasn't worried about Kyuubi's reaction since, from what he could see, Kyuubi was also amused that Sasuke seemed annoyed.

"Warmer?" Itachi questioned.

The fennec nodded with a flush that was obviously from the cold rather than embarrassment. Naruto was such a hyperactive and contact-loving person that simply being held by someone he had known for most of his life wouldn't bother him; however, Sasuke might be getting the wrong idea…and that would be fun.

"Yeah, thank you, Itachi. You're nicer than, Sasuke."

He pretended that he didn't hear his little brother's growl at Naruto's comment.

"Come on, let's just get back to the house," Sasuke grumbled while stomping back toward the house.

"Hey, stop being a bastard," Naruto shouted while ripping out of Itachi's grasp.

Chuckling to himself, Itachi watched as the blonde darted after Sasuke. It was amusing that Naruto was so single minded, his thoughts always going back to Sasuke, that he ignored the warmth offered by another. If he wasn't trying to get the two younger boys together or didn't know Naruto's nature, Itachi might have felt offended by the sudden abandonment, but that was obviously not the case.

~*~*~*~

Rushing past the others, Naruto darted into the house while pulling off his jacket. The mentioned article of clothing was of no use to keeping him warm at this point, in fact, the insulation that had attempted to keep him warm outside, was keeping him cold once he entered the warm house.

"Naruto, go change into some of Sasuke's old clothes," Mikoto told him, like every year before. "You know where they are, and when you're done with that, you can have some hot chocolate."

Doing as the white tigress said, Naruto faintly heard her greet the other three before he shut and locked Sasuke's door. One year he forgot to lock it…and Sasuke seemed to avoid him for a while after that. The fennec hybrid wasn't sure why Sasuke had avoided him, they were both boys anyway, it's not like they had anything different from each other, but he knew enough to keep from being the subject up.

Opening the closet door, Naruto immediately pulled a long sleeved shirt and a hoodie before heading over to the dresser drawer and getting sweatpants. All of the items were horribly dark colors that the blonde would normally complain about, but he was too cold to care about that. Quickly getting into each article of clothing, while keeping his own undergarments of course, Naruto also grabbed a blanket off of Sasuke's bed for more warmth. He then unlocked the door and found himself face to face with the owner of the room. Sticking his tongue out at the slightly older hybrid, the blonde bounced off to get his hot chocolate.

Naruto had to say while he hated the cold, he had fun running around all day, especially when he got hot chocolate out of it in the end.

"Damn you, Itachi!"

Stopping to blink, Naruto wondered what Itachi did to bother Sasuke so much, but he was more concerned with getting his warm beverage than with the Uchiha brothers' issues…and he knew they had a lot of those.


	4. Jealousy and Spite

"So…Naruto actually locked you out this time?"

Glaring at his brother, Sasuke tried to ignore him and shut the door so he could also change out of his cold clothes. Unfortunately, Itachi didn't seem fazed by this.

"Don't you have to go bother Kyuubi or something?"Sasuke seethed.

"In a minute…but I'm busy bothering you right now, little brother," Itachi informed. "Now…I hope you weren't jealous about me warming up the little fennec, but you should have done something if you were bothered by it."

Continuing his glare, Sasuke tried to keep his mouth shut. Ignoring Itachi was always the best choice out of all possible responses, or lack of.

"Ah…so you were jealous," his brother said while chuckling and walking away.

Maybe silence wasn't always best.

"Damn you, Itachi!"

Pushing his bedroom door a bit harder than necessary, Sasuke froze in place and bit down on his tongue when he realized, rather painfully, that the door didn't shut…instead it smashed his tail. Making sure that his tail was out of the way the second time, Sasuke slammed the door as hard as he could. Today was not a good day in his eyes.

Taking a deep breath, and making sure not to move his sore tail too much, Sasuke changed his clothes as quickly as possible before his mother wondered where he was. She always made sure to keep him from shutting himself away in his room…damn.

Once the youngest Uchiha finished his task, he slowly made his way downstairs, where he knew he would find various "winter treats" sitting in the room that his and Naruto's parents abandoned in order to move their party somewhere else in the house. Sasuke was somewhat annoyed that he had come to accept this as routine for the time of year, and to think it all started with an idiot who bit him over some stupid butterfly.

Speaking of the idiot….

Narrowing his eyes, Sasuke watched as Naruto's tail swished back and forth as he was scratched behind his furry ears by Itachi and Kyuubi.

"You're such a child," Sasuke scoffed.

That seemed to catch Naruto's attention, and the blonde glared at him. Not that Sasuke minded, he was just annoyed seeing Itachi trying to make him jealous when he definitely was not jealous, especially over the stupid fennec.

"You're just jealous," Naruto growled.

He was not jealous! How dare Itachi trick Naruto into thinking such a thing! Besides, wasn't Naruto on _his_ side of the whole thing?!

"You just want your ears scratched too, don't you?"

Ah…trust Naruto to not understand the situation. Sasuke had calmed down once he realized that Naruto was not corrupted by their brothers; however, the youngest Uchiha did not have the good fortune to stay calm. As usual, Naruto ruined that calm, and he did this by rubbing the spot behind his ears, giving Sasuke a second of weakness and a quiet purr was released. It wasn't until Naruto paused suddenly that Sasuke even realized what he had done, and he was dreading his brother's and Kyuubi's reaction to such an embarrassing noise.

"Sasuke…did you just—"

"Just _what_?" Sasuke demanded while cutting Naruto off.

"Did your little brother just…_purr _while being petted by my little brother?" Kyuubi asked dumbfounded, and before Itachi could answer, he added, "Will _you_ purr if I scratch behind your ears?"

Locking his gaze with Itachi's, the brothers quickly came to a silent agreement to quickly change the topic.

"Naruto," Itachi started, "your hot chocolate is getting cold."

"Eh?!"

The blonde quickly rushed over to his cooling beverage while Sasuke let out a relieved sigh. He hoped that he could blissfully deny any comment to suggest that he just purred like a kitten, and he would probably, conveniently, forget that he owed his brother for getting him out of the potential disaster, and blow to his pride, if Naruto continued on that subject.

Hopefully the rest of the night would pass by without any other mishaps.

~*~*~*~

Kyuubi watched in amusement as Naruto and Sasuke used each other as pillows while sleeping as they were sitting up. It was strange how much the two of them fought against being mates when it was just so obvious, but it wasn't like Itachi was helping any. When his younger brother had actually _purred_, it could have been a great moment for their little brothers to start realizing their relationship had never been normal, even from the very beginning.

Sending a glare in Itachi's direction, Kyuubi knew he would be annoyed at the white tiger for a while. He just couldn't see that their brother's belonged with each other.

"What?" Itachi asked.

Knowing that the older Uchiha brother had seen his glare, Kyuubi stuck his tongue out at him. Sure, it was childish, but what else could he do without waking up their brothers?

"You're an idiot. There was a perfect chance at getting these two together," Kyuubi stated while waving a hand at the boys leaning against each other in their sleep.

"Not that again."

"Yes, _that_ again, Itachi," Kyuubi growled, quickly being angered. "If you're so against them being together, then say it. Although I am certain that these two belong together, I will make sure my little brother isn't hurt by the whole thing, and if that means keeping him away from Sasuke, then so be it. We'll both disappear from your lives if you're bothered by us so much. Our parents will allow us to stay at home since we've been old enough to take care of ourselves."

"Kyuu—"

"No, I'm not going to sit here and listen to you, you stupid feline."

"You're being ridiculous."

Kyuubi quickly got up and pried Naruto away from Sasuke, momentarily fighting the sleeping white tiger's tail that didn't want the mass of heat taken away. Once he accomplished that, he sent another glare toward Itachi, only to see him glaring back from a few inches away.

"You will not make decisions that are not yours to make. Let Naruto choose whether or not he wants to no longer see a friend of his before taking him away without explanation," Itachi hissed.

"What will it matter? As you said, they don't like each other like that anyway."

He managed to slip out of the room with his, still sleeping, little brother as he heard Itachi growling at him. However, after he shut the door, Kyuubi carefully placed his ear against the door.

"I'm sorry, Sasuke."

Frowning, Kyuubi was confused. Why would Itachi apologize to Sasuke for what just happened? Did the older white tiger see things the same way he did? If so, then he was being an ass about the whole thing, and just to spite Itachi, Kyuubi would stay away; however, he knew that he wouldn't be able to force Naruto away from Sasuke. The two were always together.

Walking away from the door, Naruto clinging to him only for his body heat, Kyuubi went off to find out when they would be going home.


	5. Breakfast with Foxes

Blinking awake, Naruto was certainly confused. He was in his own bed, but normally after a day at the Uchiha house, he would wake up wrapped in Sasuke's blankets that he stole in the middle of the night. This alteration in the tradition made him wonder what had happened; however, what was even stranger was that Kyuubi hadn't tried to force him out of bed yet. Kyuubi always made him get up in the early part of the morning, and by taking a glance at the window, it looked like it was already late morning.

Frowning, the blonde quickly shed the clothes he was wearing, only to notice that he was still in the clothes that he borrowed from Sasuke. He would have to go and take those back, if only to get his own clothes back that were left in the white tiger's room. Grabbing the warmest clothing he could find, Naruto dressed as quickly as possible and then went in search for his brother.

Naruto wandered around the house for a little while before he found Kyuubi sitting in the bay window, staring out at the bright sunlight reflecting off of the white snow. The red fox's tail hung limply off of the edge and his ears were drooped slightly, and all this did was make Naruto worried about his older brother.

"Kyuubi?"

Had the bay window been better insulated, Naruto would have taken the spot next to his brother, but the cold seeping through the glass made him keep his distance. His brother was obviously not hurt or anything, just a little down, so that meant that Naruto didn't have to freeze just to see what was wrong with Kyuubi.

"What is it, Naruto?"

"Are you alright?"

Naruto frowned when he saw Kyuubi's eyes narrow at the snow piles outside. What did harmless snow do to Kyuubi?

"It's nothing," Kyuubi snapped.

"Where are mom and dad?" Naruto questioned in hopes that a subject change would be beneficial to his brother's mood.

"Over with the Uchiha family," his brother growled.

Obviously Kyuubi was mad about something, but he didn't know what had caused his brother to act like someone just ripped fur out of his tail.

"Okay…well, I'm going to go and give Sasuke the clothes I borrowed back."

Naruto noticed his brother gritting his teeth after his comment. Was Kyuubi mad at Sasuke? Sasuke didn't do anything to him though.... With a shrug, Naruto was headed back toward his room when he heard a knock at his door.

"I'll get it!" Naruto shouted.

~*~*~*~

Sasuke frowned as he stretched across his bed, refusing to open his eyes. Why was he so warm? Didn't Naruto usually steal his blankets, leaving him to freeze his tail off? Groping around the bed, Sasuke frowned even more before he opened his eyes. There was no little fennec fox in his bed, leaving him more concerned about where Naruto was than the fact that he was so used to Naruto sharing his bed that it should have seemed weird.

Quickly changing his clothes, Sasuke spotted Naruto's clothes scattered in his room, proving that the blonde had been there the day before. Maybe Itachi would know where to find the energetic fox.

Knocking on his brother's door, Sasuke waited for a reply, but no one answered. Glaring at the door, Sasuke started banging on the door, determined to get his brother's attention. Finally it seemed that Itachi got the hint that he wasn't going away; however, Sasuke was surprised when his brother opened the door. It looked like Itachi hadn't gotten any sleep. Despite this, Sasuke had other worries.

"Where's Naruto?"

The dry chuckle that came from his brother made him confused, but he waited to see if Itachi would answer him.

"Well?" Sasuke prodded.

"Kyuubi took him home last night."

"Why?" Sasuke demanded as his tail twitched in annoyance.

Sasuke growled when Itachi just shook his head and shut his bedroom door. Apparently Itachi had done something to annoy the red fox hybrid, but he didn't care about Itachi's sulking. Going back to his bedroom, Sasuke gathered Naruto's clothes and immediately went to the front door to get his coat.

"Going to see Naruto," Sasuke called from the doorway.

"Okay, honey, call if you're going to be late or if you stay over," his mother called back.

"And Sasuke, be a dear and make sure Naruto doesn't just eat ramen today," Kushina said from the other room.

"Okay."

Sasuke shut the door behind him as he set off for Naruto's house. It wasn't a far walk; in fact it was just down the road, which had been quite the annoyance to both him and Naruto when they were children. Though, it became a convenience when they would want to escape from their own homes every once in a while, even if they had adamantly denied that they were friends.

Once Sasuke reached the door belonging to the foxes, he knocked and waited for someone to answer. He didn't have to wait long since he heard Naruto yell that he would get it, but he stayed a few steps back from the door.

"Hey, Sas—"

Sasuke watched as Naruto opened the door, started to speak, and then slammed the door.

"Cold!"

Shaking his head, Sasuke then reached for the door and opened it slowly, making sure that he didn't hit the foolish fennec with the door.

"You should have realized that it was still going to be cold…idiot," Sasuke said with a smirk at the shivering fox nearby.

"Shut up, you damn bastard," Naruto grumbled. "So why are you here anyway? I was going to head over to give you your clothes back in a few minutes."

Raising a brow, Sasuke handed the bundle of clothes over to Naruto before he took off his coat and hung it next to the door.

"I beat you to it then."

He smirked slightly when he heard Naruto grumbling behind him as he made his way through the house like it was his own. It might as well have been, the two were over at each other's houses enough that it was like having two homes. However, when he spotted Kyuubi at the window, Sasuke sent Naruto a questioning glance.

"He's not happy about something," Naruto whispered.

"Probably Itachi," Sasuke muttered back.

Walking into the room, Sasuke took the empty spot on the bay window and stared blankly at Kyuubi.

"So, what did Itachi do?"

A second later, Sasuke was blinking at Kyuubi while Naruto held the red fox's fist back from hitting him. Well, someone had anger problems…not that Sasuke was any better.

"Hey! Don't hit Sasuke," Naruto tried to reason. "He didn't do anything!"

While absentmindedly flicking his furry ears, Sasuke watched as Kyuubi muttered something under his breath before storming out of the room. That was interesting.

"Kyuubi! Stop being a bastard!" Naruto shouted after the older fox.

"Naruto, leave him alone."

"Huh? But he about hit you for no reason."

This caused Sasuke to look at Naruto with an amused glance.

"Don't you do that often? In fact, you _bit_ me for no reason when we first met."

"Why are you defending Kyuubi? And I did bite you for a reason; you made me lose that butterfly!" Naruto argued.

Shaking his head, Sasuke turned toward the kitchen.

"Have you eaten yet?"

"No."

Sasuke then continued toward the kitchen, well aware that Naruto was following him.

"Can you make ra—"

"No, your mother said to not let you eat just ramen. How about some eggs and ham?" Sasuke asked while digging through the refrigerator.

"Fine…."

With that, Sasuke started pulling the things he needed to make some food while he reminded himself that he hadn't eaten either.

~*~*~*~

Kyuubi frowned as he paced in his room. He had almost hit Sasuke, and there was no reason for it; he was mad at Itachi, not the younger white tiger. Sighing, he also knew that Naruto was most likely not happy with him snapping all morning and then trying to hit Sasuke. Taking in a deep breath, Kyuubi decided to pretend that Itachi didn't exist. That would make him feel a little better, and since both Sasuke and Naruto were alone with him, he could push them together without any interruptions.

Making his way downstairs, Kyuubi smelled the food from the kitchen and knew where the two were. Sasuke was making food and Naruto would be eagerly waiting for the nourishment. With a chuckle, he entered the kitchen and watched as both boys looked up at him for a second before going back to what they were doing previously.

"Sorry about earlier, both of you."

"Hn."

"So…are you done PMSing, Kyuubi?" Naruto questioned.

Glaring at his brother, Kyuubi should have known that Naruto would say something along those lines.

"So, what did Itachi do anyway?"

"Who?" Kyuubi asked innocently.

Catching the look that Sasuke sent Naruto, but ignoring it for his own good, Kyuubi looked at what Sasuke was making.

"Hey, don't cook the ham too much."

Kyuubi watched as Sasuke moved the pan away from the burner. Sure, they cooked food, but hybrids, especially those that ate meat, preferred their food more toward the "rare" side of the cooked scale. It was a good thing Naruto wasn't after a hybrid like that lamb that made eyes at him. The Hyuuga girl was nice and all, but Kyuubi knew that Naruto didn't look anywhere but at Sasuke, even if the younger fox wasn't aware of it. Besides…the poor girl would probably faint at the amount of meat that Naruto ate.

Pausing for a second, Kyuubi openly laughed at his twisting of his own thoughts. Oh, he was a pervert and he knew it. He was also aware of the strange looks that Sasuke and Naruto were giving him, but he just couldn't tell them what he thought, not yet at least.

"If you're done with whatever amused you," Sasuke started, "the food is done."

Following the boys to the table, Kyuubi smirked.

"So, Sasuke…why are you playing the role of 'housewife' this morning?"

"I am _not_ a housewife," Sasuke growled. "Besides, would you trust Naruto in the kitchen, where there is fire and knives?"

"Ah…good point," Kyuubi said. "Besides, Naruto doesn't seem to be 'topping' material."

Both boys froze at this point, and Kyuubi was quite amused.

"I could totally top that bastard!" Naruto exclaimed.

With a smirk, Kyuubi watched as Sasuke rolled his eyes as he groaned in annoyance.

"Shut up, idiot. You're only giving him ideas, and no, you wouldn't top me. You'd be the bitch."

"_WHAT?!"_

Taking his plate of food, Kyuubi decided to retreat to his room for the time being. It would be dangerous to sit in the same room as Sasuke and knives at the moment. Besides, he thought with a chuckle, he had plenty of time to slowly push the two together.


	6. Quality Time

Sorry about the wait, but I've been horribly busy with school work, and while I should be working on one of two of the research papers I have due this week, I wanted to write this instead.

Warnings: Same as before.

Disclaimer: I do not own the Naruto characters.

* * *

After a rather interesting argument over who would 'top' who, both boys realized that the source of the argument had slipped out of the room, and they were left with blushes on their faces over the topic of their dispute. With a huff, Naruto stabbed his food and began eating while ignoring his friend, who seemed to have the same idea as him.

Ignoring the problem would make it go away.

When he was finally finished with his meal, Naruto put his plate near the sink and decided that it was time to bother Sasuke into hurrying up so he could entertain him.

"Sasuke, Sasuke, Sasuke…."

"Naruto shut the hell up."

"Sasuke, Sasuke, Sasuke…."

Seeing Sasuke's left eye start twitching, Naruto sped away from his spot, knowing that if he bothered the white tiger any more, that Sasuke would resort to physical retaliation. While it was annoying, Naruto knew that the other was stronger which was why the blonde often used his speed to avoid trouble.

Deciding that he was safe from Sasuke's wrath for the time being, Naruto wandered up to his room and gathered the clothes that he had borrowed from Sasuke the night before. He might as well return those before he ended up forgetting. That would be annoying, having the bastard's colorless clothes tainting his bright wardrobe. While scrunching his nose, Naruto picked up the dark clothing, thinking that Sasuke should really get _some_ color into his attire every once in a while, and decided to see if the bastard was where he left him.

Not finding Sasuke where he expected him to be, Naruto huffed and decided to look elsewhere, since there was really nothing else he could do, and waiting for Sasuke to reappear was not an option since the blonde was not patient enough for that.

"Sasuke? Where'd you go?" Naruto called throughout the house. "Sasuke!"

"Be quiet."

Turning around, Naruto spotted his missing friend and pushed the clothes toward him.

"Here, these are yours."

"Obviously," Sasuke muttered while taking the articles of clothing.

Naruto stared at Sasuke for a moment, knowing that the white tiger hybrid absolutely hated when others would just stare at him.

"What?!" Sasuke eventually snapped.

"Entertain me!" Naruto shouted with a grin plastered to his face.

~*~*~*~

Sasuke couldn't believe that he was following Naruto into town. For some reason, when Naruto said 'Entertain me!' he meant 'follow me around and keep me company'. Letting out a sigh, Sasuke knew that he was going to be dealing with a cold fennec later on, but Naruto swore to him that he wouldn't complain…yeah right.

Glancing around, Sasuke hoped that he could avoid anyone that would bother him if they saw him. He was following the moron around; he didn't need another reason to wish that he had just stayed at his house and ignored the need to figure out why Naruto hadn't been there that morning.

"Sasuke! Naruto!"

With a groan, Sasuke knew that he had somehow jinxed himself, maybe if he ignored her, then she would go away. Looking to where the blonde was supposed to be, he realized that Naruto had run off toward the annoying voice…so much for ignoring her.

"Sakura!"

Seeing Naruto bouncing in front of the flamingo hybrid—whose hair matched her species, making her easy to spot—Sasuke shook his head. Of course the day would lead to being social.

Now, not to say that he _hated_ Sakura, but she was annoying in his opinion, though, he was lucky that she had gotten over her crush on him over the years. Despite this, the damn bird was always around when he least wanted to deal with her.

"Sakura, isn't it rather cold for you to be out here this time of year?" Sasuke questioned, if only just to get rid of her.

"Nice to see you too, Sasuke," Sakura grumbled. "And I was just telling Naruto that I would be leaving for the rest of the winter. Mother finally decided that it was time to head for warmer weather until winter ends."

"Your point is?"

"Sasuke! Stop being such a dick!" Naruto reprimanded.

"Would you even know what one looks like, seeing that you don't have one?" asked another voice.

Sasuke was about to slap his hand into his forehead. What was this? A party? Why was Sai here?

"Damn you!" Naruto shouted.

Narrowing his gaze at the red-winged blackbird hybrid, Sasuke wondered why all the damn birds were swooping in.

"Anyway, as I was saying before I was interrupted," Sakura stated with a glare directed at them all, "I will have to give everyone their holiday gifts late. I just don't have the time to shop for everyone right now, seeing that I'll be leaving later today."

Sasuke mentally stated 'thank goodness' at her comment, mainly because it would mean that the rest of the winter would go Sakura free, and because her 'gifts' were usually things that he did not need nor want.

"Aww…so I have to give you your gift late, too," Naruto mentioned. "I haven't shopped for anyone yet."

Sasuke watched as Sakura turned her gaze toward him, as if expecting him to confirm that he would get her something as well. However, she should know better.

"I know that you won't go shopping."

Ah…so she did know better. Besides, Naruto usually ended up putting his name on whatever he got her anyway.

"That reminds me," chimed Sai, "what would you like, Naruto? I must do my shopping away from here as well, since it is too cold for me. Maybe you should come along; fennecs are not well adapted to the cold either."

Glaring at the demented bird, Sasuke started to walk away, knowing that Naruto would soon follow. He refused to continue to share the same _air_ as Sai. That damn hybrid was just waiting to get his throat ripped out.

"Goodbye, Sakura! Go away, Sai."

A moment later Sasuke heard Naruto catch up with him, so he slowed his pace back down to a leisurely walk.

"Sai is annoying," Naruto muttered.

Sasuke decided to simply nod in agreement since there really wasn't anything to discuss about the matter. Sai _was_ annoying and that was that.

"Hey Sasuke?"

"Hn?"

"What do you want to get for the holidays?"

Blinking out of slight surprise, especially since Naruto had never actually asked him that before, Sasuke wasn't sure how to reply. What _did_ he want to get? He wasn't really someone who wanted material items, especially since all they did was take up space and gather dust.

"I don't know," he replied.

"Huh? How can you not know?" Naruto interrogated. "There must be _something_ that even you want."

"Not that I can think of."

Catching the frown on Naruto's face, Sasuke shook his head. The blonde certainly had a hard time understanding that someone really had nothing they wanted someone else to get them. Was that really that rare? Then again, Naruto did like collecting things, heck the little fox even would take off with his things from time to time, especially if they were shiny. At least Sasuke always knew where to look if something went missing after Naruto visited. The fennec's stash was located under his bed.

"But—"

"What about you?" Sasuke questioned, just to get Naruto to stop bothering him.

"Huh?"

"What do _you_ want?" Sasuke clarified.

The question seemed to make his companion fall silent. Ah, had he beaten Naruto at his own game?

"See? Even you can't think of something," the white tiger taunted.

"Shut up, you bastard! I just have to think about it some more."

Shaking his head, Sasuke just continued walking.

~*~*~*~

After accomplishing absolutely nothing in town, Naruto and Sasuke were heading back home, and Naruto knew that he was being oddly quiet, but he had promised Sasuke that he wouldn't complain about being cold…and that was all he could think about at the moment.

Some time back, Naruto had begun losing the feeling in his tail and his ears, now his fingers were numb, along with his feet; it even felt awkward to walk now. Shivering, while walking behind Sasuke so he didn't notice, the blonde wondered why he wanted to go into town in the first place. He should have listened to Sasuke, not that he would ever tell the tiger that.

"You're oddly qu— Naruto? Are you okay?" Sasuke questioned.

Naruto simply nodded, not trusting himself to open his mouth in the likely chance that his teeth would start chattering.

"You're cold, aren't you?"

Pausing, Naruto knew there was no point in denying the fact since, even if he wasn't shivering violently, Sasuke knew that he couldn't tolerate the cold very well.

Listening to Sasuke sigh, the fennec hybrid knew that he had been found out and figured that Sasuke was annoyed with him. However, he was extremely grateful when Sasuke tugged him forward and wrapped his arms around him. It wasn't much, but at least he wasn't as cold as he had been before.

"Come on, my house is closer and you can get warm there," Sasuke stated while letting go of Naruto.

Somewhat annoyed that his warmth was moving away, Naruto knew that he couldn't spend all day in the cold. Besides, Sasuke's house had a large fireplace that he could sit in front of. With that in mind, Naruto eagerly followed Sasuke. At least he would be warm soon.

~*~*~*~

Walking down the stairs, a black ear with a white spot twitched toward a nearby room. Flicking his white and black striped tail, Itachi smirked slightly at what he saw.

Inside the room, in front of the fireplace, Naruto was bundled up in numerous blankets. Unable to see the fennec's face, Itachi knew that it was him because of the tan furry ear that had popped out of the pile. Well, if Naruto was here, that meant that Sasuke was home as well, so where was his little brother?

"Move."

Turning his head, Itachi found Sasuke giving him a blank stare while holding a steaming mug of dark liquid. Since the contents of the mug smelled sweet, Itachi knew that it was hot chocolate for Naruto since the younger tiger's tastes were somewhat directed more toward bitter. If the scent of warming cider from the kitchen was any clue, Sasuke was also getting himself something.

Stepping out of his little brother's way, Itachi watched in amusement as Sasuke tried getting Naruto to come out of the mass of blankets, or to move a bit farther away from the fire; however, the blonde would not listen. Sasuke set Naruto's drink down before leaving the room once again, without sparing Itachi a glance.

When Sasuke returned, the younger white tiger gave him a confused look before continuing and sitting next to Naruto with his own drink in hand.

Itachi was about to leave the boys alone since it must be weird to have someone watching, and he knew Sasuke knew that he was still there. That boy hated feeling people watching him. However, as Sasuke's white and black tail curled around the mass of blankets, he paused. Sure, Itachi had seen the two boys cuddle in their sleep, but he had never actually witnessed a conscious act of physical contact.

Quietly chuckling, Itachi shook his head and walked away. Maybe Sasuke finally understood his feelings for the blonde fennec.

"Don't you _dare_ fall asleep on me!" Sasuke growled.

Pausing again, Itachi shook his head, or maybe Sasuke was still completely clueless.


	7. Something to Think About

Hey guys, this might be the last update for about...two weeks or so. This is because I still have to get homework done that I didn't do over the break, and this next week is my last week of actual classes before the next week of finals. On December 11, I might get something done, as I will spend the entire day in airports, but I can't promise anything between now and then.

Warnings: Same.

Disclaimer: I still down own the Naruto characters, and I never will.

* * *

Staring at the fire, and enjoying the warmth of the blankets surrounding him, as well as the added heat that Sasuke was supplying beside him, Naruto was content. However, his mind was as active as ever, unfortunately for Sasuke.

"Hey, Sasuke?"

"Hn?"

Naruto nearly started complaining about the fake 'word' that was the white tiger's reply, but he let it slide. He needed to be on Sasuke's good side for his question.

"Can I scratch your ears? You purred last time."

The fennec noticed Sasuke freezing up at what he said. Ah…so he _had_ heard correctly, and it wasn't just something his imagination came up with. Sasuke _purred_.

"No," Sasuke growled.

"Aww…why not? You liked it, so why not?"

"It was a fluke."

Naruto didn't believe Sasuke one bit, but he decided to let it go. There was no getting through to Sasuke when he was being stubborn…which was all the time.

Once again, staring at the fire in silence, Naruto found himself getting bored, but his thoughts left a second later. The wonderfully calming feeling of having his ears scratched took away his boredom, and in fact made Naruto's eyes begin to droop. Maybe Sasuke wasn't such a bastard after all. Quickly drifting off to sleep, Naruto didn't hear Sasuke's complaint.

~*~*~*~

Stopping his hand, Sasuke knew that his protest had not been heard by the fennec that was now using him as a pillow. Then again, he shouldn't have been surprised. Naruto was notorious for getting tired after getting warm when he spent time out in the cold, and it didn't help that he had his ears scratched on top of that.

With a sigh, Sasuke just shook his head while trying to reposition his arms in a more comfortable spot. He didn't worry about waking Naruto since he slept through almost anything, but Sasuke was having a hard time moving the blonde's dead weight in order to sit more comfortably.

Unfortunately, Sasuke's attempts were futile, leaving him to be forced to drape his arm over Naruto's body. No, he was not _holding_ the fennec, he reasoned, he was just trying to keep his blood circulating in that arm, and putting it on Naruto was just the easiest way of accomplishing that.

As Sasuke silently reasoned his actions, he felt himself getting a bit tired as well. A nap would be nice….

~*~*~*~

After a while, Itachi realized that it was getting late and the boys had been suspiciously quiet. Heading back to the room where he last spotted the pair, Itachi's ears flicked forward in curiosity when he noticed that the fireplace had dwindled down to a few glowing embers.

Walking into the room, Itachi's eyes focused on the bundles on the floor in front of the dark fireplace. It took a bit of an effort, but the older white tiger managed to bite back a chuckle. Those two were always together, and yet neither realized what they meant to each other. It was funny really. However, Itachi had no intention of moving the boys, mainly because it wasn't his fault that they fell asleep on the floor. They were also too big to carry to a bed these days, and besides, Itachi was busy searching for a camera; he intended on capturing this moment.

When he finally found what he was looking for, Itachi returned to the room and snapped a few pictures of the boys sleeping. It would make for some lovely blackmail, or even something to use for Kyuubi's forgiveness…if he got past his pride and actually apologized to the red fox. However, that made him wonder what he had to apologize for; Kyuubi was the one to overreact, and it wasn't his fault that he had an anger issue.

He'd just keep the pictures to himself.

~*~*~*~

Kyuubi was wandering over to the Uchiha household only to pick up his little brother. He was going to drag Naruto into town to get some shopping done for the holidays. Some things their parents wanted him to get, but he figured that he should bring Naruto with him to help carry all of the groceries and the fact that he knew his little brother would need time to go into town without his brooding shadow being dragged along. That was the only time the blonde could buy Sasuke's gift.

Pausing for a second, the red fox growled quietly to himself before knocking on the door. He would not hesitate simply because Itachi lived there. No, he would just ignore the white tiger since he was there for his little brother and that was it.

Luckily, Sasuke answered the door and just stared at him, as if silently demanding why he was there.

"Tell Naruto to meet me out here. We need to go into town for some grocery shopping."

The grimace on Sasuke's face told Kyuubi that Sasuke would definitely not be tricked into tagging along with Naruto; the young white tiger hated the idea of shopping, especially grocery shopping with Naruto. Even Kyuubi had to admit that his little brother could be a terror when it came to shopping for food.

A few minutes later, Naruto came outside, grumbling. Well, at least he managed to go through this trip without crossing paths with a certain white tiger.

"Come on, Naruto. We have to go shopping."

-----

Kyuubi watched in amusement as Naruto wandered from various stalls and stores, white puffs of breath escaping his mouth as he exclaimed excitement over something else every time. The energetic fennec finally stopped complaining about being dragged along after Kyuubi explained that he could use this time, with Sasuke not there, to shop for the previously mentioned hybrid.

As he carried a few things from their shopping, Kyuubi knew that he would make Naruto take some of the items once he figured out something for his friend, mainly because the older fox knew not to trust the blonde with things that could get bruised or broken while he searched for the 'perfect' gift.

"Hey, Kyuubi?"

With a twitch of his ear, he silently showed that he was listening to his younger brother while examining various cuts of meat.

"Do you have any suggestions for what I should get Sasuke? He said he couldn't think of anything that he wanted this year."

"Doesn't he tell you that every year?" Kyuubi replied back.

"That's not the point! I don't know what to get him!"

After informing the butcher what he wanted, Kyuubi turned back to his little brother. He wanted to make a comment about how Naruto was acting like someone trying to find a gift for their lover, but Kyuubi decided that—just this once—he would refrain from saying something like that. Naruto really looked like he actually wanted his opinion.

"I don't know what to tell you, Naruto. Sasuke is an Uchiha and let me tell you, they're difficult."

"I guess so…. What are you getting Itachi this year?"

The red fox froze in place while fighting against the scowl that wanted to make itself present on his face. He had no intention of giving the older white tiger a gift, not after Itachi pissed him off. However, it seemed that Naruto had noticed his displeasure at the topic.

"What did Itachi do to make you mad? It's kind of strange since you two seem to usually get along…even if you two fight like Sasuke and me."

What Naruto said made Kyuubi stop and think. Naruto thought that they fought like Sasuke and him? What did that say about them when Kyuubi believed that it was a cute lover's spat whenever the younger two fought? Did that mean…? _No._ There was no way that he acted like Naruto and Sasuke with Itachi, especially not in a 'more than friends' way. That was just wrong.

"Forget it, Naruto."

"But—"

"Hey, why don't you make something for Sasuke if you can't think of anything to buy?" Kyuubi suggested, hoping to get Naruto off of the current topic.

"That's so girly, Kyuubi. I don't want to make anything, besides I wouldn't know what to make either."

Luckily, Kyuubi had a momentary distraction from his brother when the butcher finally came back with his order. When he finally turned back to Naruto, Kyuubi noticed that his younger brother was already looking at another place, probably searching for something to get Sasuke.

This was going to be a long day.


	8. The Price of a Gift

This has not been beta'd (as is the case for most things I write), and it took me a while to get the motivation to write this. Meh.

Warnings: Same.

Disclaimer: I still do not own the _Naruto_ characters.

* * *

"Naruto, we have to get back home with these groceries."

The blonde in question was still looking through various things in shops in hopes to find something for the youngest white tiger. Not to mention that hauling all of the groceries was not his idea of fun; Kyuubi could handle that.

"Kyuubi, can't you just go back without me? I still haven't found anything for Sasuke."

"You're just trying to get out of taking the groceries back, aren't you?" Kyuubi sighed. "Fine, but make sure you're back before dark, or mom will have your hide."

Naruto just waved off his brother as he tried to figure out what to get the Uchiha that he called a friend. Sadly, the fennec found plenty of things for his other friends, and he made a mental note to go back and get them another time, but he just could not find anything for Sasuke. Of course the bastard was difficult to shop for, seeing as he seemed to make it his goal in life to make everything more difficult then it needed to be.

"There's nothing good here."

The glare that the shopkeeper threw him, made Naruto flatten his ears at the realization of what he said. He didn't mean that the things they were selling weren't good; he just meant that there was nothing 'good' for Sasuke, but it's not like he could say that either since so many adored the Uchiha family, even the stoic, youngest one.

Deciding that it would be wise to leave before the shopkeeper decided to skin him, Naruto made his escape and wandered into another shop.

~*~*~*~

Kyuubi frowned at the worried look on his mother's face. Naruto wasn't back yet, and the sun had set about an hour ago; not to mention that a storm was expected to come sooner or later.

"I'm going to call Mikoto to see if she, or Sasuke, has heard from him," Kushina finally stated.

Kyuubi agreed, and he could tell his father did as well, with his mother's decision, but he doubted that the white tigress would know where Naruto was since she normally made his younger brother call home so their mother wouldn't worry. Since they hadn't heard anything from the Uchiha house, Kyuubi doubted that anyone knew where Naruto was.

Pulling on a thick coat—and other things to fight off the cold—Kyuubi could hear his mother talking on the phone with Mikoto. He knew that the conversation was likely to end with a cormation of a search party for his little brother. Normally, they would let Naruto come home on his own, but with the temperature being so low, and with the oncoming storm…they couldn't risk it. Kyuubi just hoped that it wouldn't turn out like the last time.

~*~*~*~

"Sasuke? Have you heard from Naruto lately?"

Glancing at his mother, Sauske shook his head while his eyes reflected his confusion.

"I haven't seen him since Kyuubi came over to take him shopping for groceries earlier today. Why?"

Sasuke could tell that his mother seemed hesitant to tell him, and he was annoyed when she looked away from him and continued her conversation over the phone.

"Sasuke hasn't heard from him either."

What was going on?

"Of course we'll help!"

What did Naruto get himself into this time?

"You and Kyuubi can come over and we'll come up with something while Minato stays home to wait for him; he's no use with the cold as it is. Fennec foxes really aren't made for this weather."

Sauske watched as his mother finished her conversation and hung up the phone, and as he stared at her, Sasuke silently demanded an explanation.

"Naruto hasn't come home, and a storm is expected to hit. On top of that, no one knows where he is."

It took a moment for the situation to sink in, but once it did, Sasuke didn't get the chance to question his mother since there was a knock on the front door. It was most likely Kushina and Kyuubi, and his guess was confirmed when the red foxes, bundled up in coats, scarves, and thick gloves, made their way into the room.

"Sasuke, go get your brother," him mother told him.

"Itachi, get your sorry ass down here!"

"Sasuke! If I wanted you to yell, I would have done it myself! And watch your language!" Mikoto huffed.

Sasuke merely shrugged. They didn't have to wait long for Itachi to grace them with his presence; though, the youngest Uchiha did notice Kyuubi purposefully ignoring Itachi.

"What do you want, Sasuke?"

"I told him to get you, and he deemed it necessary to yell for you instead. Anyway, Naruto is missing and we're going to look for him. Itachi, go tell your father the situation, and that he is going to be coming along with Kushina and me to check through town. After that you're done with delivering the message, you and Kyuubi will go search the park and the woods nearby. Sasuke…you'll stay here."

"What?" Sasuke hissed.

He did not like the idea of sitting around waiting while everyone else searched for _his_ friend. He could understand Kushina and Kyuubi searching, but his mother, father, and Itachi going while he was left to watch the house was absurd.

"You have to wait here just in case if Naruto comes back while we're out looking. Minato is staying at their house for the same reason," his mother informed him.

"But that's because Minato is a fennec like Naruto; he can't deal with the cold, but I can. Why can't I go look while someone else stays here?"

"Sasuke, please don't be difficult," his mother pleaded. "The more time we spend arguing, the less time we have to find Naruto before the storm comes in, so just stay here."

Before Sasuke could say another word, he found himself alone in the house. Sure, he could hear some chatter outside of the front door, but Sasuke was aware that his involvement in the conversation was over.

Flattening his ears, and his tail bristling, Sasuke couldn't help the growl that escaped.

"This is just like last time! Why can't I ever help?!"

Sasuke then stormed off to his room.

~*~*~*~

"We'll meet back here in an hour to see if one group found him, or if he came back. If Naruto hasn't returned, then we'll come up with another plan and go from there."

Itachi watched as his parents left with Kushina on their search, while he was left with Kyuubi. While he knew the other was not pleased with him, their argument would have to be temporarily forgotten…for Naruto's sake.

"Come on, let's check the park first."

"Fine."

Well, at least Kyuubi was talking to him…sort of. However, after minutes passed in silence, Itachi began to wonder if it must be a new record for the red fox to be quiet for so long. Sure, he wasn't as energetic as Naruto, but Kyuubi was quite active regardless.

"Damn it all! If I had just told him to forget about getting Sasuke some stupid gift, then he wouldn't be in this mess."

Knowing that Kyuubi needed this time to vent, Itachi decided to silently listen.

"It's a wonder why I didn't demand that he help me carry the damn bags back home, like I usually do. See, this is what happens when I try being a 'nice' older brother and let him out of a chore, and it's all my damn—"

"It's not your fault," Itachi stated, figuring that it was time to stop Kyuubi's ranting. "Naruto can take care of himself, despite the cold. He's probably taking cover somewhere, or he went back to one of the houses, so get a grip on yourself. He's not seven anymore."

Itachi knew that he alluded to an event some years ago, much like the one they were in now. Naruto had gotten lost in a storm, and the similarities between the events were rather startling; however, Itachi wasn't going to let Kyuubi start blaming himself for something he couldn't control.

"You're right," Kyuubi sighed. "Thanks."

Without any indication that he heard the red fox hybrid, Itachi continued the search for the smaller fennec. He just hoped that he wouldn't have to deal with Kyuubi freaking out again since reassuring others really wasn't his strong point.

"Oh, remind me that I have to show you something when all this is over," Itachi mentioned.

Ignoring the questioning gaze that Kyuubi directed toward him, the white tiger pretended that he hadn't said anything.

~*~*~*~

Pacing around his bedroom, Sasuke knew that he was on edge. The slightest sound made him freeze and wait to see if Naruto, or the others, had come back; however, every time he was disappointed that his mind was simply playing tricks on him.

At one point, Sasuke paused, but not because of a noise; he noticed the shiny rock placed carefully among his other things on his dresser. The 'rock' was actually blue tiger's eye, a gift from his blonde friend some years ago. In fact, it had been that year that they finally accepted each other as friends, while remaining rivals as well. The circumstances led to there being no other option, especially when Naruto had been in the situation all for the stone.

Sasuke silently admitted that he didn't remember too much about the incident, since he was seven, but he did remember the important details. The young tiger remembered Kushina coming over in a panic when she realized that Naruto had snuck out of the house for some unknown reason, and there was a rather violent storm going on at the time. This led to the adults going to look for the child, and while Sasuke had asked to go, he had been denied and forced to stay with Itachi while Kyuubi and Minato stayed at their own house.

Then there was a large span of time where he couldn't exactly remember what happened, only that he had been bothering Itachi to pass the time. However, Sasuke was aware when the phone rang, later learning that Naruto was back at his house, along with a doctor.

He had demanded to be allowed to go and see Naruto. When he arrived, he pushed his way through to Naruto's room—knowing where it was because they would often visit each other, despite their protests to actually being 'friends'—and saw, what he guessed was the doctor, but then focused on the still body on the bed.

It was in that moment that Sasuke feared that the blonde was dead. At seven, Sasuke knew enough that death took away people forever, and people were cold, quiet, and slept forever when they were dead. Rushing over to the bed, Sasuke stared, wide-eyed, at the boy who was unconscious to the world. Ignoring everyone else around him, the seven-year-old, white tiger hybrid climbed onto the bed and yelled at Naruto to wake up.

Later Sasuke learned—from his teasing brother—that he had cried that night, and he even ended up clinging to Naruto and fell asleep that way. Though, Sasuke didn't really remember much after yelling at the motionless fennec hybrid, but apparently no one minded Sasuke clinging to Naruto since the transfer of body heat was one of the safest and easiest ways to warm up the freezing blonde.

Some days later, Sasuke had learned why Naruto had been out in the storm. It was because the blonde had lost the gift that he was going to give him. When he first saw it, Sasuke was rather pissed because Naruto had almost died over a stupid rock, but the fennec explained that it wasn't just a rock, it was a blue tiger's eye. The smooth stone was such a dark blue that it was almost black, which Naruto said reminded him of Sasuke's eyes, seeing that white tigers normally have bright blue eyes, but the Uchiha family had eyes that bordered black. The blonde also spouted out stuff about the stone supposedly being good against sadness and also finding one's way to something or another, but Sasuke wasn't really paying attention at that point because the gift, that actually had a lot of thought put into it, from Naruto meant more to him than he, as a seven-year-old, would ever admit to a rival of two years.

Looking back on the whole thing, Sasuke knew that the price that could have been paid for the gift that he treasured was not worth it. The cost of Naruto's life was not worth any gift.

Sasuke let out another low growl when he realized that there was still nothing telling him where Naruto, or anyone else, was. The whole ordeal was rather frustrating and, not to mention, nerve-wracking. Then again, he had always known that Naruto was a beacon to trouble; it never stopped following him around.

"You better be okay, you idiot."


	9. A Decision is Made

Practically everything under the sun was trying to prevent me from getting this part done, and it would have been finished about 24 hours sooner...but things happened. Anywho...it's done, so hopefully you enjoy it.

Warnings: Same.

Disclaimer: I do not own the _Naruto_ characters.

* * *

Staring at the stone, sasuke felt that it was taunting him…or something like that…but he wasn't thinking rationally anymore. At one point Sasuke's mind started supplying him with images of what could have happened to Naruto out in the cold. It didn't help that he knew the story of what the younger boy went through years ago; the fennec told him that he had been cold, but after some time, he didn't feel it anymore. In fact, Naruto said that he felt like taking his coat off rather than keeping it on, but he left it on, buried himself in the snow and drifted to sleep. Apparently Kushina found him only because she tripped over him while they were searching the park. That thought made Sasuke worry that no one thought to check every snow pile for Naruto.

Glaring at the stone, the youngest Uchiha went to pick it up, but paused when he heard the phone start ringing. With an annoyed flick of his stripped tail, Sasuke thought about ignoring it, but he realized that it could be important. Rushing over to the nearest phone, Sasuke didn't realize that he momentarily held his breath.

"Hello?" the white tiger managed to question.

"Sasuke, I thought you'd like to know that he showed up back home a couple of minutes ago," Minato's voice stated over the phone.

"I'll be over in a minute," Sasuke hurried to say while slamming the phone down.

Realizing that he just hung up on Naruto's father, Sasuke shrugged before rushing to get his coat and other things before scribbling a note for the others who were still looking for the blonde. He would have waited in order to tell them in person if it was anyone other than Naruto, but that wasn't the case.

Once he was done getting ready, Sasuke immediately left to, first, make sure that Naruto was going to be fine, and then to yell at him.

~*~*~*~

"The hour is about up."

Kyuubi about huffed at the obvious statement, but he realized that Itachi was right. They had been out in the snow for almost an hour, and they were lucky that the storm hadn't started up yet, but Naruto was still nowhere to be found.

"But we haven't found him yet," Kyuubi stated.

"Someone else could have found him, or he could have gone back to one of the houses."

He had to admit that Itachi made sense, but he still wanted to be sure that his little brother would be okay. Especially since he remembered when Naruto was brought back with a doctor the last time. It was scary when his little brother was carried in, unconscious and barely breathing…. Naruto had hypothermia, a rather serious case of it, and the doctor could only do so much. After that, it was up to getting the small fennec warmed up, and Naruto didn't go without even more problems since he got a rather nasty cold afterward.

"Kyuubi, we should start back to see if he returned."

Not realizing that he zoned out, Kyuubi knew that they had to go back, despite not finding anything on their own. It was possible for his mother and Itachi's parents to find him, or for the hyperactive bundle to return home.

"Yeah…let's head back."

~*~*~*~

While glaring at the door in front of him, Sasuke continued to knock until it was opened.

"Hello, Sasuke."

Blinking, he found himself staring at a stressed Minato, who Naruto was practically a copy of. The whole night must have been stressful, especially since Naruto's father knew all too well how the cold effected fennec hybrids. However, Sasuke was not there to see the older fox.

"He's in his room," Minato stated.

Sasuke gave a short nod in reply before heading toward his blonde friend's room. He then noticed, as he was walking down the hallway, that he forgot to remove his coat because it was getting significantly warmer. Minato must have turned up the heat since the house wasn't usually this warm…even in winter. Sasuke pulled off his coat and scarf by the time he reached the door he was searching for.

Since the door was open, Sasuke didn't bother with knocking, he just opened it more and walked right in, spotting the blonde sitting in his bed, shivering with numerous blankets surrounding him. With a sigh, the white tiger threw his things on the floor before removing his shoes and sitting beside the shivering mass.

"Are you okay?"

"J-just…cold," Naruto stammered out.

"You're sure?"

"Y-yes."

Nodding, Sasuke sat there for another quiet second before standing up and glaring at Naruto.

"What the _hell_ were you _thinking_?! You know that you can't stand the cold for so long, and yet you stay out until it's ridiculously late, with a storm on its way, and then come back perfectly fine, other than being cold!" he shouted. "You weren't thinking, were you? What would be worth wandering out in the cold like that?"

After his outburst, Sasuke kept his narrowed gaze focused on Naruto, wondering what reason the blonde had for this act of foolishness.

"I wa-wanted to…f-find you a-a g-gift," Naruto managed to say, despite his shivering.

Freezing in place, Sasuke could only stare at his friend. Again it was for a present for Sasuke? Naruto risked his health, and everyone else's sanity, for some stupid present?

"Naruto…you're such an idiot. Don't ever do that again," he demanded. "You almost _died_ the first time, and you're lucky this time."

"Ah…but th-the third t-time is the ch-charm," Naruto stated with a small grin.

"Don't even joke about this, Naruto," Sasuke growled.

A silence then fell over the two, and Sasuke eventually felt his resolve disappear the more he watched Naruto shivering. Trying to stop from sighing noticeably, Sasuke pulled some blankets away from Naruto, causing the blonde to yelp and try to take them back, but Sasuke climbed into the bed and pulled his friend close to help get the fennec warmer.

"Th-thanks, Sasuke."

"Hn."

~*~*~*~

Itachi frowned when he saw the lights in his home dimmed. Wasn't Sasuke supposed to be waiting for Naruto? Opening the door, he ignored Kyuubi as he stomped by the door in order to get the snow off of his clothes, instead, he attention was focused on a note sitting on the table.

Picking up the piece of paper, Itachi couldn't keep the slight smile off his face. Well, it seemed that Naruto was at his own house, and Sasuke just couldn't wait for anyone else before going to see him.

"Kyuubi, your brother is at your house."

"Really? How do you know?"

"Apparently your father called over here to tell Sasuke that he came home, and Sasuke wrote a note rather than waiting for us to all come back," Itachi stated while handing over the note Sasuke left.

He watched as Kyuubi quickly skimmed through the note, most likely only reading one out of every four words that were written on the paper.

"Then let's head over there," Kyuubi demanded.

Amused by Kyuubi's one track mind, Itachi followed after the red fox, but not before making sure to leave the note where their parents could find it.

"If you don't hurry up, I'll cut off that striped tail of yours."

Itachi flicked his tail, that had been cruelly threatened, and glared at Kyuubi. Sure, he knew that the other would never go through with it, and he did want to make sure that his brother was fine, but that was no reason to threaten the wellbeing of his tail. Kyuubi would have to pay for that.

~*~*~*~

While he was glad that Sasuke was helping him get warm, Naruto was also trying to fight off the sleep that was trying to take his mind over. This was more for his friend than himself, especially since Sasuke shook him rather violently when he had first slipped off to sleep. Apparently he was having issues over what had happened the last time…not that he remembered much, but Sasuke seemed to.

"Sasuke?" Naruto asked, his shivering no longer affecting his speech.

"Hn?"

"Aren't you tired yet?"

The silence that droned on was one that told Naruto that the Uchiha was still not tired. Unfortunately, that meant that he would either have to convince Sasuke to let him sleep, or get the white tiger to drift off first. Both were easier said than done.

"Fine, but I'm going to get some sleep. It's been a long day."

"And _whose_ fault is that?" Sasuke retaliated.

Naruto knew that, while Sasuke would speak in full sentences to him, this was not part of a usual conversation. This was trying to be a distraction from letting him sleep, and when it came to getting his sleep, Naruto was well aware of what was going on around him.

"Can we talk about this tomorrow?" Naruto muttered.

"What is there to talk about? You were are an idiot and that was just further confirmed tonight."

Oh yes, this certainly was a distraction.

"Sasuke—"

"Let the poor boy sleep."

~*~*~*~

Directing a glare over to the door, Sasuke noticed his brother, as well as Naruto's idiotic brother. He didn't understand why they would suddenly pop out of practically nowhere in order to interrupt their conversation, while the logic of them wanting to check up on the blonde's wellbeing had left him.

"Yeah, Sasuke, he'll still be there in the morning. You can join in with us all as we yell at him," Kyuubi added. "Besides, he needs to get some sleep and warm up."

Sasuke growled slightly in annoyance that he was being told what to do, especially since the idiot fennec hybrid had nearly given him a heart attack when he found out that he was missing.

"Get out," he hissed.

"I suppose we should leave," Itachi stated. "Oh, and by the way, Naruto fell asleep during that short conversation. Just let him sleep, Sasuke. He needs his rest."

Turning his attention back to the blonde, he found that Itachi was right…Naruto fell asleep. While that was annoying, the white tiger hybrid just couldn't bring himself to wake his friend again, even if he had to fight off the urge to just shake Naruto until he woke up. However, Sasuke figured that doing that would kill more of the blonde's brain cells.

Sitting there, Sasuke carefully watched over Naruto through most of the night, listening to the storm that raged through the night, up until he couldn't keep his eyes open any longer. Though, before he slipped off to sleep, Sasuke made a decision, and he was going to make Itachi help him.


End file.
